We are conditioned to perceive people as unreal others- two dimensional characters who lack sentience, vulnerability and goodness. This is often most insidious when we filter people through demeaning culturally driven stereotypes. This talk explores the suffering of living in a trance that separates us from others, and how our practices of mindfulness and compassion enable us to experience what Thoreau calls the "miracle" of seeing through another's eyes, if only for a moment.

Opening Talk for an Insight Meditation retreat that is particularly relevant to those teaching or training in mindfulness-based applications. This retreat explores the Four Foundations of Mindfulness as taught in the Satipatthana discourse given by the Buddha. This talk also includes John Teasdale and John Peacock